Sam Altman: Going Public in 2026 Would Be 'Ill-Advised' for OpenAI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has indicated that the company will not be going public this year, despite having filed confidentially for an IPO. In a recent interview with Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell, Altman addressed whether IPO plans were pressuring the company to move too quickly. He stated, “We’re not rushing into an IPO,” adding that given the current landscape of AI safety, going public now would be an “ill-advised moment.” Altman emphasized that OpenAI will transition to a public company only when the business is prepared and when the societal context surrounding the technology is appropriate. When specifically asked about 2026, Altman replied, “I would say not 2026, yeah. We’ve got a lot of stuff to do.” This follows a June report from The New York Times, which noted that while OpenAI had engaged bankers and lawyers for a potential IPO in the third or fourth quarter of 2026, the company was leaning toward 2027 due to financial challenges and the volatility of tech stocks.